Grant Thornton UK has hired 121 new partners so far this year, putting it on track to reach 160 by March 2027, a year ahead of its own hope, a milestone that matters broadly because it shows how quickly private equity capital is reshaping the UK’s sixth-biggest accountancy firm, and matters specifically to accountancy professionals because it sets a pace for senior hiring that rival firms must now compete against.

Grant Thornton UK is the British arm of the Grant Thornton network and the UK’s sixth-biggest firm by revenue, with about 5,000 staff.

Cinven is a London private equity firm that agreed a 60 per cent stake in the business in 2024, in what is described as the largest private equity investment in a British accounting firm.

Malcolm Gomersall, chief executive of Grant Thornton UK, said in an earlier update that the firm’s ambition is to become the fastest-growing professional services firm in the UK, and that more than 100 partners had chosen to build their careers there this year.

The pace has accelerated through the year. Grant Thornton reported 84 new partners by June, with 65 per cent coming from outside the firm, so the move to 121 by mid-October adds 37 more in about four months, roughly ten a month.

The structure also differs from many rivals. Unlike many professional services firms, including the Big Four, Grant Thornton places all new partners in its equity partnership rather than at salaried level, which raises the stakes of each hire.

Independence remains the sector’s test case. Cinven’s stake valued Grant Thornton at about 1.5 billion pounds (about 1.7 billion euros), and the firm will not audit companies in which Cinven has invested, a safeguard other private equity-backed firms will be measured against.

For the sector, a private equity-backed firm hiring senior partners faster than planned shows how capital is being converted into talent, and sets the benchmark that competing firms and prospective partners will use when weighing offers.

Source: Bloomberg Tax / Bloomberg Tax (June update) / City AM / Traders Union